The Manhattan custody battle over a miniature dachshund named Joey will finally give Fido proper weight on the scales of justice, experts predict.
“We’re seeing a shift in the law,” said Stacy Wolf, an attorney with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
“We’re very heartened and happy to see a judge considering the emotional connection between humans and their animals as relevant to custody,” Wolf added.
Family law attorney Sherri Donovan who represents one of the spouses fighting for sole residential custody of Joey said last month’s landmark decision by Justice Matthew Cooper establishes “a whole new status for animals.”
“The legal landscape now is animals are treated like property — like a chair or a piece of luggage—whoever has the receipt owns it” Donovan said.
Cooper, in his historical decision, wrote “Although Joey the miniature dachshund is not a human being and cannot be treated as such, he is decidedly more than a piece of property.”
Top Manhattan divorce attorney Martha Cohen Stine said in the past both attorneys and their clients were reluctant to bring up pet issues in court, but Judge Cooper’s decision changes that calculation.
“Couples [now] feel more empowered to litigate over pets knowing that our judges are compassionate about the meaning and value of pets in people’s lives,” Stine said.
A Manhattan dogwalker named Khrys Solano weighed in on Joey’s case from the Union Square dog park on Thursday.
“I think dogs deserve more rights than they get,” Solano said, while walking an 8-year-old boxer named Lily.
“It’s not like a TV or an inanimate object, custody should depend on who can treat the dog better and who can take better care of the dog,” she said.
But not everyone is convinced that Joey will tip the scales of justice in favor of a pet’s best interests.
“The resolution of dispute over the dog should be done like any other property in New York, whether it’s a cow or car or a couch,” said Michael Stutman, president of the New York chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.
“New York has not gotten to the point where they analogize pets to children and apply a best interest test,” Stutman said. “Not yet.”
Additional reporting by Erin Calabrese